Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Dams are a great item of history and they're a great item of our future. It was a great honour that, in our area of New England, we had the capacity to announce, on the weekend, a further half a billion dollars in water infrastructure—water infrastructure that is fundamental to the progression of New England, New South Wales and Australia. Dams are amazing things. At the start, you hear all the cynics; they all line up: 'It's the wrong place,' 'It's the wrong type,' 'It should have been a pipe,' 'We can't do it now,' 'It doesn't have the return.' Then, when you get the announcement, guess what? They become supporters: 'Great idea,' 'I've been with you all the way.' Later on, apparently it was their idea.

Madam Deputy Speaker, as you know, in history, dams are so fascinating. The collapse of the Roman Empire started happening, amongst a whole range of reasons, because of the loss of water infrastructure. At Subiaco dam, the monks kept on flogging the stones and then the dam fell over. This is part and parcel of how we have to keep the water economy going. In New England, the coalition extended the Chaffey Dam. The coalition are building Dungowan Dam. The coalition are going to build the Mole River Dam. We are going to make our New England, our state and our nation a stronger place. And thank you very much to the Australian taxpayer for helping out.